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Health groups are raising grave concerns over recent reports that the government, through discussions with the Niti Ayog, is proposing sweeping changes to the regulatory framework for pharmaceuticals, which will grievously impact access to affordable medicines. Ignoring the reality of unacceptability high out-of-pocket spending on medicines, the government is proposing to dismantle the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) and remove or significantly dilute price controls on essential medicines.

In a joint statement several health groups have said that the move towards dismantling price controls on essential medicines and winding up of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) are being advanced at the behest of industry lobbies, under the pretext of removing “”unnecessary hurdles”” and “”ease of doing business”” in India and with little or no proper public consultation. These ill-conceived attempts to de-regulate the medicines market and in particular the prices of essential medicines will not only result in a surge in the prices of commonly used medicines but also violate Supreme Court directions to regulate the prices of all essential and life saving medicines, the statement said.

These reports come just a few days prior to a critical hearing in the Supreme Court on 9 November challenging the government’s current approach of market based drug pricing.

“”Even the existing system of price control has been watered down and greatly compromised through years of industry lobbying. Instead of dismantling the system, the government must reform it to remove market-based-pricing and replace it with a cost-based pricing mechanism,’’ said Narendra Gupta of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan.

Nearly 80 % of medical care costs have to be paid by the patients out of pocket, of which 70% of the expenditure is on medicines. Denial of essential life saving medicines due to the lack of affordability and indebtedness is a harsh reality. A distorted market cannot, and should not, be the basis of drug pricing and policy, especially when the sale price has no bearing with the cost of production and purchasing power of our people, added Mira Shiva of the All India Drug Action Network which is the petitioner in the ongoing case before the Supreme Court.
Reports of attempts being made in parallel to introduce new rules for marketing approval of drugs have also raised concerns as the purpose of these new rules remains unclear and they may create significant barriers in the registration of generic medicines.

“”The exorbitant prices of patented medicines are already a matter of great concern. Cancer drug prices are in lakhs of rupees while new injections can cost tens of thousands. Not only has the government done little to regulate the prices charged by multinational companies or issue compulsory licenses to ensure the availability of affordable generic versions, it now appears that greater barriers to the registration of generic medicines many be on the anvil,’’ said Dinesh Abrol, Convenor of the National Working Group on Patent Laws.

The government has reneged on its election promises to ensure access to medicines. These moves will only increase out-of-pocket spending on medicines and influct injury on a hapless populace, asked Anurag Bhargava of AIDAN.

The groups are urgently calling on the government to abandon the ill-conceived ideas of dismantling the NPPA and diluting the DPCO and to prioritse public health and the right to life and health of patients in India.”

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A new report by UNAIDS shows that countries are getting on the Fast-Track, with an additional one million people accessing treatment in just six months (January to June 2016). By June 2016, around 18.2 million people had access to the life-saving medicines, including 910 000 children, double the number five years earlier. If these efforts are sustained and increased, the world will be on track to achieve the target of 30 million people on treatment by 2020.

“”Get on the Fast-Track: the life-cycle approach to HIV’’ says the report contains detailed data on the complexities of HIV and reveals that girls’ transition to womanhood is a very dangerous time, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. “Young women are facing a triple threat,” said Mr Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “They are at high risk of HIV infection, have low rates of HIV testing, and have poor adherence to treatment. The world is failing young women and we urgently need to do more.”

HIV prevention is key to ending the AIDS epidemic among young women and the cycle of HIV infection needs to be broken. Recent data from South-Africa shows that young women are acquiring HIV from adult men, while men acquire HIV much later in life after they transition into adulthood and continue the cycle of new infections, the report says.

The report also shows that the life-extending impact of treatment is working. In 2015, there were more people over the age of 50 living with HIV than ever before—5.8 million. The report highlights that if treatment targets are reached, that number is expected to soar to 8.5 million by 2020. Older people living with HIV, however, have up to five times the risk of chronic disease and a comprehensive strategy is needed to respond to increasing long-term health-care costs.    

The report also warns of the risk of drug resistance and the need to reduce the costs of second- and third-line treatments. It also highlights the need for more synergies with tuberculosis (TB), human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer, and hepatitis C programmes in order to reduce the major causes of illness and death among people living with HIV. In 2015, 400 000 of the 1.1 million people who died from an AIDS-related illness died from TB, including 40 000 children.

The report outlines that large numbers of people at higher-risk of HIV infection and people living in high-burden areas are being left without access to HIV services at critical points in their lives, opening the door to new HIV infections and increasing the risk of dying from AIDS-related illnesses. The report examines the gaps and approaches needed in HIV programming across the life cycle and offers tailored HIV prevention and treatment solutions for every stage of life.

Globally, access to HIV medicines to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV has increased to 77% in 2015 (up from 50% in 2010). As a result, new HIV infections among children have declined by 51% since 2010.

The report stresses that more efforts are needed to expand HIV testing for pregnant women, expand treatment for children and improve and expand early infant diagnosis by using new diagnostic tools and innovative methods, such as SMS reminders, to retain mothers living with HIV and their babies in care.

The report shows that the ages between 15 and 24 years are an incredibly dangerous time for young women. In 2015, around 7500 young women became newly infected with HIV every week. Data from studies in six locations within eastern and southern Africa reveal that in southern Africa girls aged between 15 and 19 years accounted for 90% of all new HIV infections among 10–19-year-olds, and more than 74% in eastern Africa. 

Globally, between 2010 and 2015, the number of new HIV infections among young women aged between 15 and 24 years was reduced by just 6%, from 420 000 to 390 000. To reach the target of less than 100 000 new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women by 2020 will require a 74% reduction in the four years between 2016 and 2020.

Many children who were born with HIV and survived are now entering adulthood. Studies from 25 countries in 2015 show that 40% of young people aged between 15 and 19 years became infected through mother-to-child transmission of HIV. This transition is also magnifying another major challenge—high numbers of AIDS-related deaths among adolescents. Adolescents living with HIV have the highest rates of poor medication adherence and treatment failure.

A range of solutions are needed to respond to the specific needs of adolescents, including increased HIV prevention efforts, keeping girls and boys in school, increasing HIV testing and voluntary medical male circumcision, pre-exposure prophylaxis and immediate access to antiretroviral therapy.   

The report shows that antiretroviral therapy is allowing people living with HIV to live longer. In 2015, people more than 50 years old accounted for around 17% of the adult population (15 years and older) living with HIV. In high-income countries, 31% of people living with HIV were over the age of 50 years.

As people living with HIV grow older, they are also at risk of developing long-term side-effects from HIV treatment, developing drug resistance and requiring treatment of co-morbidities, such as TB and hepatitis C, which can also interact with antiretroviral therapy. Continued research and investment is needed to discover simpler, more tolerable treatments for HIV and co-morbidities and to discover an HIV vaccine and cure, the report says.”

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An officially committee has recommended introduction of full-fledged Yoga courses in the Indian universities. The committee, set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development in January this year, submitted its report in April and has recommended five degree courses in Yoga. These are Bachelors, Masters, Doctor of Philosophy, Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga and Post Graduate in Yoga Therapy.

The Committee has also prescribed the details of courses to be run and qualification of yoga faculty in its report.  The courses may also form the basis for selection of Yoga Instructor for Universities/colleges, the committee has said. This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH, Shripad Yesso Naik in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

Also, the Ministry of AYUSH has adopted various measures to make the AYUSH systems of medicines people-friendly through various central Sector Schemes like Information, Education and Communication (IEC), Public Health Initiatives, Centre of Excellence,  research Councils, and the National AYUSH Mission, Mr Naik said. As a result of these measures, there have been many achievements in the field of AYUSH by was of development of medicines through research like AYUSH-82 for Diabetes Mellitus, training and accreditation of Yoga instructors, the NABH accreditation of AYUSH Colleges initiated and signing of Mous with various countries including USA.”

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India needs to engage with a multiplicity of actors in a varied range of arenas and try to straddle what can be contradictory trends in our foreign policy, said Foreign Secretary, Dr S Jaishankar on Monday. He was delivering a key note address at the inaugural session of the IFS-IDSA Seminar on ‘India and the Great Powers: Continuity and Change’, organised by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (IFS). 

Dr Jaishankar pointed out that the contradictions between India and the other great powers are far less than before, offering the country an opportunity to forge ahead in a much more fluid and multi-polar set up than before. We should work towards an India which is prepared to engage the great powers more robustly, and see in that engagement a possibility of advancing its own prospects, he added. Speaking on the issue of connectivity, the Foreign Secretary said that the lack of connectivity in South Asia is what is holding back India’s and South Asia’s prospects. We need to figure out how India and South Asia fit into the larger connectivity grid, he observed.

The fluidity and the free play at the great power level have translated into greater uncertainties at the regional level, noted Dr Jaishankar, adding that Asia is a large continent marked by sharp national rivalries and the absence of a security architecture.

Stating that forums like BRICS offer the possibility of finding common ground with countries like Russia and China, Dr. Jaishankar pointed out that the changing nature of India’s engagement with the great powers is reflected in recent engagements with  the British Prime Minister Theresa May’s bilateral visit to India,  the Chinese and Russian presidents’ participation at the BRICS meet in Goa recently, and the Indian Prime Minister’s recent visit to Japan – all reflect a decisive shift in India’s foreign policy.

Apart from great powers, India also needs to focus on the regional flux, observed Dr Jaishankar. The region is moving into a much more dynamic and complex environment, with unprecedented developments in the maritime space and on the land hubs on either side of India, he said. The seminar, attended by foreign policy experts, examines India’s relations with the great powers, particularly the relationships with the United States, China, Russia and Japan.”

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The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under the Ministry of Science & Technology has been supporting the research on Dengue vaccine in a major way. This is being done in collaboration with the Indo-US Vaccine Action Programme (VAP) and the Vaccine Grand Challenge Programme (VGCP).

Efforts have been supported for the development of safe, efficacious and inexpensive dengue vaccine and continued support will be provided based on review of the programme and the milestones achieved, according to Y.S.Chowdhury, Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences.

A major project on “Development of envelope domain III –based dengue virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidates“ has been implemented at New Delhi-based International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology (ICGEB) at a total cost of Rs.429.41 lakhs in March, 2016.

Under this, promising candidates were developed that elicited protective immune response in mice. The Dengue Subunit Vaccine Tetravalent (DSV) vaccine candidates have been transferred to Industry for further development. Also the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a not-for-profit Section 8, Schedule B, Public Sector Enterprise of DBT supported project on ‘Optimization and characterization of a Virosome Vaccine for Dengue” with a total cost of Rs.89.19 lakhs for a period of two years, to induce a balanced immunity against all four dengue virus serotypes. The project will go to further studies subsequent to establishment of immunogenicity for the tetravalent vaccine in the present proposal.

As and when the candidates are ready for the dengue vaccine trials, the Government will explore the possibility of supporting the trials through inter-ministerial sources and other international agencies.

Dengue outbreaks have been taking a heavy toll in India, particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR) for the past several years. Thousands of people develop highly debilitating dengue every year and many deaths are reported due to dengue-related complications which results in a sharp fall in blood platelets. Dengue is mosquito-borne disease. This mosquito thrives in fresh water near human habitation.  “

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This is about the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrabu Naidu and his counterpart in the state of Telangana K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR). Both are Chief Ministers of new born states, a difference of less than 24 hours separates their official identity. Yet their response to the recent `surgical strike’ of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on ‘black money’ makes a fascinating case study.

For the record Mr. Babu was the only Chief Minister to have publicly demanded demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1, 000 notes three weeks before the actual announcement by the Prime Minister. The Andhra Chief Minister held a news conference at the temporary capital of his state-Vijayawada on October 12 to articulate his demand. There was a specific context in which he made the suggestion.

He had linked his demand for immediate abolition of currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denominations as a pragmatic measure to curb black money. “”Out of the Rs 65,000 crore disclosed across the country, Rs 13,000 crore was declared in Hyderabad and, out of it, Rs 10,000 crore by a single individual. Who is that, we can’t know as per law. Is it possible for a businessman to declare such huge money,”” he had asked.

Noting that politics has become a “”shelter”” for corrupt people and black money earners, he said, “”Some people who are in politics are misusing the people’s mandate. I am writing a letter to the Prime Minister today asking that Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes be abolished and total bank transactions be encouraged.””

One can only surmise that either Mr. Naidu was in the know of a great deal of what is happening in his or the neighbouring state as well as the Centre or he was just speculating. One can only presume a CM of his stature and seniority would not talk loose.

Ten days later after the PM’s announcement, Mr. Babu begun to demonstrate signs of nervousness. Last week he actually deemed it necessary to write for the second time to the Prime Minister as well as the Finance Minister and officials in the Union Finance Ministry on measures needed to make the whole operation smooth and a little less painful!

What went wrong? For academic argument let us say either he assumed his demand for demonetisation would never be fulfilled or he just did not anticipate the consequences of the decision.

How else does one explain his second letter to the Prime Minister seeking Rs. 10,000 Crore rupees of smaller denominations to the state to overcome the problems. The second letter pleaded for Rs. 10 thousand Crore rupees of smaller denominations–Rs.10, Rs.20, Rs.50 and Rs.100–to the state on the ground that it was required to overcome the problems following demonetisation of currency.

At a formal news conference in Vijayawada last week, the temporary capital of the state, Mr. Naidu urged the Union government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to immediately dispatch new currency notes of smaller denominations worth Rs. 10,000 crore to tide over the crisis precipitated by the demonetisation of old currency notes.

“I spoke to RBI Governor Mr. Urjit Patel requesting him to despatch adequate new currency. The government will also mount pressure on the Centre for release of additional currency to ease the cash crunch,” he told the media.

He suggested to the Centre to provide 80 per cent subsidy on E-Pass machines to the businessmen and said his Government will be happy if the Centre is ready to agree for 100 per cent subsidy.

Mr. Naidu wanted the centre to exempt charges to the people who will make on-line transactions. Mr Naidu said the common people, farmers, daily wage earners and old people are facing immense inconveniences due to non-availability of cash in the banks and ATMs in the state.

Why should it surprise anyone if a Chief Minister chooses to point out the adverse impact of the demonetisation move? It should not in the normal course. But case of Mr. Babu is different. He was one who had made the suggestion in the first place.

It leaves one with two scenarios to contemplate particularly given the backdrop against which Mr. Babu had originally articulated his demand. His demand came after he dropped a bombshell that out of the Rs 13,000 crore of black money declared in Hyderabad under a recent scheme, Rs 10,000 crore belonged to a single individual, in apparent hints towards his political rivals. Yes, Rs. 10,000 crore by one individual!

“”In my vast political life and experience, this is the first time I’m seeing a crisis remaining unresolved for such a long period,”” the Andhra Pradesh chief minister said during a teleconference with Reserve Bank and state government officials and district collectors.

“”It’s painful to see that the problem caused by demonetisation is continuing even after 12 days.”” Mr. Naidu appeared to be handing a lesson in crisis management to the Centre as he recounted how fast his administration had stemmed the chaos from a cyclone and a stampede-scarred mass festival in the past two years.

The chief minister said he was “”becoming impatient””. Modi had asked people to be patient for 50 days. Mr. Naidu had been advocating a ban on 500 and 1,000-rupee notes since 2013, and was one of the few politicians outside the BJP to welcome the demonetisation announcement of November 8.

Indeed, a few days before the announcement, he had written to Modi urging such a move to stifle corruption and vote-buying. The letter has prompted a couple of Naidu’s ministers to claim the chief minister had inspired Modi’s decision. “”I compliment the PM,”” Naidu had himself said after the demonetisation drive was launched, while at the same time questioning the plan to introduce 2,000-rupee notes and seeking a debate on it.

In a show of support for Modi’s decision, Naidu’s government had opened a helpdesk at Vijayawada and a toll-free line to help people deposit their old notes at banks and post offices. The endowment department, which oversees the running of many temples, offered the coins and smaller currency from the hundis to the banks. In certain districts such as West Godavari, the administration initiated a system of tokens substituting for notes in the purchase of vegetables at government-administered farmer markets.

Mr. Naidu cited how he had dealt with crises. “”We overcame the catastrophe caused by the cyclone in eight days,”” he said, referring to Cyclone Hudhud, which had pounded Visakhapatnam in October 2014. He had camped in the port city for about a week, operating out of a bus and winning praise from residents for restoring normality in a short time.

“”We held the Godavari pushkaram (a festival in July last year) for 14 days without further hiccup after the trouble faced on the first day (a stampede that killed about 30 people). But the demonetisation trouble remains unresolved after 12 days,”” he said. “”Bankers should take this as an opportunity to prove their capabilities. We should move forward to tackle the situation with cooperation, coordination and efficient action.”” He warned that notices would be served on banks that failed to cooperate.

Mr. Naidu asked the banks to set up call centres to keep customers abreast of the latest position on cash. He asked the bigger banks with currency chests to share the money with rural branches. He said that more point-of-sale machines would be added to the already operating 25,208 e-pass machines at ration shops. He asked state officials to make all the transactions cashless.

The chief minister also directed that 60 lakh students be trained in mobile banking and online transactions so they could spread the knowledge among family and friends. In contrast the response of his counterpart in Telangana K. Chandrasekhar Rao was entirely different. 

His state was badly hit on account of withdrawal of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes,Telangana CM KCR rushed to New Delhi for an interactive session with Mr. Modi on urgent steps needed to be taken to ease the sufferings of people as well as the state governments on account of the crisis triggered by the ban on Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes!

According to his office last week Mr. Rao had telephoned the Prime Minister to apprise the Prime Minister of the serious situation faced by the ordinary folk in his state on account of the currency ban. In the course of the conversation the PM not only asked him to visit New Delhi but also requested to come with a blue print on what can be done to ease the situation.

So on Saturday Mr. Rao had a meeting with Mr. Rao with a demanding moratorium for states on payment of interest on loans due to centre. He also appealed to the PM to direct the concerned enforcing agencies and officials to ensure that money kept by women for `emergencies’ is not treated as a crime. In addition he wanted the centre to direct that private hospitals also accept old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes

There are no views that Telangana state is in dire straits following the recent decision of the Narendra Modi government to ban Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes. The state has been hit severely due to the demonetisation move. On Friday hours before the Chief Minister’s was to depart for New Delhi, the state officials had maintained that though bank deposits swelled to Rs.30,000 crore of which only 10 per cent is in circulation. 

The sharp decline in revenue from liquor is evident from 50 per cent drop in sales in the retail outlets. VAT revenue declined steeply in the last 10 days. As against collection of about Rs.2,400 crore a month, so far only about Rs.200 crore was realised in more than two weeks.

The irony of it all is that of the Rs. 63000+ plus that got converted into white thanks to the recent tax amnesty scheme of the Modi Government, Telangana alone accounted for Rs. 13000 crore of the disclosure. Of this one individual is supposed to have benefited to the extent of Rs. 10000 crore. 

In the course of his meeting with Mr. Modi the Telangana Chief Minister made a plea that the old currency kept by women and housewives, as home contingency fund, should not be considered illegal. He also wanted the PM to direct that all private hospitals should accept old currency notes till normalcy returns.

It seems the Telangana State has been hit very hard by the decision of the Modi government. He is perhaps the first Chief Minister in the country who actually deemed it necessary to dial up Mr. Modi to give his frank assessment of the ground situation.

A statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office on Thursday had quoted Mr. Rao as saying that while he welcomed demonetisation `if it helped clean up the country’s economy’, the Centre should take into account the loss incurred by State governments and decreased flow of revenue to them.

Telangana wants the Centre to defer payments by States on the loans borrowed by them as it they are hard pressed for payments due to various organizations as well as advances and salaries to the state government employees. Official statement of the Telangana CM had quoted Mr. Rao as saying that all those having more than Rs 2.5 lakh as income or savings should not be treated as black money holders. “Instead, it should be referred as unaccounted money. These small and medium traders, businessmen and others in the unorganised sector should be given certain exemptions. They should be given one more chance to disclose their income and deposit the money in banks, thereby granting them one-time amnesty.”

It said that the Chief Minister has reviewed at length the impact of demonetisation on the State’s revenue. “It was informed that transport and registration departments bore the brunt while excise, sales and commercial taxes also had a setback. While welcoming demonetisation, Mr. Rao said any reform was a continuous process and aimed at achieving excellence. It would be nothing but success when thinkers and intellectuals collaborated for a purpose. However, any decision of the Centre to curb and prevent black money should not cause misery and suffering to lakhs of small traders, common public and those in the unorganised sector. Efforts should be put in place to safeguard the interests of these sections. People should be made partners and stakeholders in development.

Meanwhile Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that an all-party delegation from the state will meet Prime Minister Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Delhi, over the prevailing corporate bank crisis.

The Kerala Assembly, which held a special session to discuss the turbulent situation in the state’s co-operative sector in the wake of Centre’s demonetisation scheme, passed a resolution stating that union government should withdraw the restrictions on cooperative banks. The resolution states that like commercial banks, co-operative banks should also be given permission to conduct transactions. Chief Minister Vijayan assured said that people who have deposited their money in co-operative banks need not get worried, guaranteeing that not even a single penny will be lost.

Vijayan has made his stand on demonetisation quite clear, as on several occasions he has voiced out against the Centre saying that the radical scheme has “”inconvenienced”” people across the country as no “”adequate”” backup arrangements were made. Asserting that people were suffering across the nation because of lack of planning by the government, the Chief Minister has emphasised that his government is not against curbing black money but was against the steps which cause hardship to common people.

Last week, Vijayan and his cabinet colleague Finance Minister Thomas Issac called on Mr Jaitley in New Delhi and conveyed to him the difficult situation on account of spiking of high value currencies. Mr. Vijayan’s delegation would appraise the Prime Minister, the Union Finance Minister and all others concerned during their visit to N. Delhi would discuss among other issues on cooperative sector crisis that has gripped the state

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while calling for unity among the major players in the cooperative sector, said the Centre should remove the ceiling on cash withdrawals by cooperative banks, exchange demonetised notes and give operational freedom to treasuries to handle cash transactions. He said Kerala had always stood united, irrespective of political affiliations, whenever the Centre had adopted policies intended to weaken the cooperative sector.

No other financial establishment could compete with cooperative bodies in the credit sector, he said. The cooperative movement had emerged as the most revolutionary development after the land reforms. “The RBI’s stand will adversely impact rural areas. Unfortunately, the RBI is not prepared to recognise the social commitment of the cooperative movement. It does not recognise the presence of the cooperatives in providing varied services such as interest-free loans, housing loans, running medical stores, consumer fair price shops.” He said the State could not accept the stand that cooperatives should withdraw from social objectives. “The main dispute is connected to the Vaidyanathan Commission report which the State had rejected totally,” he said.

The second major issue related to income tax under which cooperatives are now deducting TDS on deposits above Rs.25 lakh. But the decision to keep the cooperative banks out of financial transactions after demonetisation was intended to strangle the sector. Scheduled commercial banks can never be a substitute for cooperative banks in the rural credit sector.

BJP State president Kummanam Rajasekharan and general secretary K. Surendran walked out of the meeting stating that the party could not support a move that was intended to help holders of black money! Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said it was not possible to accept the BJP’s stand on this issue.

About the author: The author is a practicing hack, a cynic to core.”

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Exim Bank has flagged off a consignment of materials and components of Jaipur Foot to the National Disability Institute – Kabul (NDI), for 1000 amputees of Afghanistan. Exim Bank is supporting Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), the parent body of Jaipur Foot – the most widely used artificial foot / limb in the world – for setting up a permanent Jaipur Foot Centre at the NDI in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Exim Bank has provided a grant support of US$ 100,000 for the Jaipur Foot Project which includes support towards materials and components for fitting of 1000 artificial limbs in a year. In addition, a sum of US$ 25,000 has also been provided for training three NDI technicians in Jaipur for a period of three to four months. The Project is an insignia of the Bank’s endeavour to be more closely associated with the multi-layered development process of partner countries like Afghanistan by supporting social dimensions like health and education, while concomitantly serving its mandate of promoting India’s trade and investment, a statement issued by the Exim bank said here.

The project formally commenced with the inception of the training program for the NDI technicians, and flagging of the consignment of materials and components for the Jaipur Foot Centre to NDI in Kabul. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. D. R. Mehta, Founder and Chief Patron, BMVSS noted that although the organization has held camps in Afghanistan in the past, this initiative would provide an enduring impact on the differently abled citizens of Afghanistan. Mr. Mehta also noted that the role of Exim Bank has been pivotal in achieving the desired objectives as finance emerged as a major impediment in setting up of a permanent centre, given the financial constraints of the Government of Afghanistan.

Mr. Yaduvendra Mathur, Chairman and Managing Director, Exim Bank noted that these efforts of BMVSS and Exim Bank are aligned with the Indian policy of nurturing development partners for mutual growth. Mr. Mathur also highlighted the unstinted support received from the Ministry of External Affairs, and specifically the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan in facilitating this project.

Exim Bank has played a pivotal role in enhancing bilateral trade and investment relations with Afghanistan by promoting and financing Indian companies in execution of projects. These projects facilitate and support infrastructure development in host countries, thereby contributing to their economic progress. In Afghanistan, the Bank has supported various project export contracts valued at nearly Rs. 900 crore. Supporting organisations like BMVSS that have a global footprint, for socially oriented activities, has provided a new dimension to Exim Bank’s participation in the development of India’s overseas partners, the statement said.”

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With  Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar questioning the nuclear deterrence doctrine being followed by India, there appears to be a pressing need to match the fast changing geo-political environment. He argues this aspect of “”no first use”” takes away the element of unpredictability about the country’s military strategy. The minister has been criticised for his views even though it is his personal opinion, the discriminating believe including some former chiefs of the armed forces that the no first use option is best left unsaid and kept in limbo. 

This assumes importance as the New Delhi’s reliability and trust when it comes to the nuclear deterrence is not in doubt unlike its immediate neighbour Pakistan. Then, China being a power and an all weather friend of Islamabad posing a threat to India on two fronts cannot be wished away. Beijing is already flexing its muscle and making its presence felt not only in South Asia but the South China Sea and other parts of the globe undeterred by the United States, the lone super power. 

While releasing a book — The New Arthashastra : A Security Strategy for India — earlier this month on November 10, Parrikar in his own inimitable way made a telling point that ultimately the “”written defence strategy does not mean you have to follow it. If a written doctrine exists you are giving away your strength. Why should India bind itself to no first use (NFU). We are a responsible nuclear power and will not use nuclear weapons irresponsibly””. 

The Raksha Mantri did not want to be tied down to NFU. More than starting a fresh debate on this subject, the opinion coming to the fore is that the NFU doctrine needs to be reviewed and changed. “”There must be an element of unpredictability in the policy. Only then it carries weight,”” the minister emphasised. 

There is an element of unease in this regard because BJP stalwart and the Lotus party’s first Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee made a statement in Parliament in May 1988 that “”“India is now a nuclear weapons state…. We do not intend to use these weapons for aggression or for mounting threats against any country; these are weapons of self-defence, to ensure that India is not subjected to nuclear threats or coercion.” 

The 2014 BJP election manifesto drew pointed attention to “”revise and update India’s nuclear doctrine””. The NFU was the point of contention in the manifesto which has been brought to the fore by Parrikar. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the NFU clause is expected to be deleted.  

The former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash, who was also Chairman, Chiefs of Staff, found it refreshing that politicians are finally willing to talk openly about national security and nuclear deterrent. This was not the case in the previous Congress led UPA regime when two of its Defence ministers assiduously steered clear of this issue. 

In a newspaper article, he opined that the government must appoint a CDS without further delay. It may be recalled that a draft nuclear doctrine was prepared by the National Security Advisory Board chaired by the late K Subrahmanyam and submitted to the government on August 17, 1999. After a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, on January 4, 2003, the Vajpayee government spelt out India’s nuclear doctrine and the operationalisation of its nuclear deterrent. 

The salient features include building and maintaining a credible minimum deterrent; follow no first use posture; and will use nuclear weapons only in retaliation against a nuclear attack on Indian territory or on Indian forces anywhere. It was also affirmed that nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage; retaliatory attacks will be authorized only by the civilian political leadership through the Nuclear Command Authority; nuclear weapons will not be used against non-nuclear weapon states; and India will retain the option of retaliating with nuclear weapons in the event of a major attack against it with biological or chemical weapons. 

Defence experts and analysts emphasise that security issues and nuclear deterrence requires to be reviewed periodically as changes are required to effectively counter the changing ground realities. The ever changing strategic realities including new alignments being thrown up coupled with the fresh challenges and security concerns needs to be factored in the nuclear doctrine. This assumes significance because the factors prevalent when the doctrine was framed 13-years back have become irrlevant. India needs to be prepared for the worst case security scenario.

Under the prevailing circumstances Parrikar’s desire of injecting an element of unpredictability will keep India’s foes guessing about its strategy in case it is pushed to a corner. It is widely believed Raksha Mantri’s argument cannot be dismissed out of hand as the 13-year old nuclear doctrine needs to be upgraded at regular intervals.

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.)”

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CJI to have an interactive consultative session soon with all High Court Chief Justices on All-India Judicial Services

The Chief Justice TS Thakur is soon to have a consultative interactive session with Chief Justices of High Courts on the pros and cons of the proposal for an All-India Judicial Services (AIJS) Examination.

The initiative is significant as there are differences at various levels on the contentious proposal. To begin with several states are not on board as the mandated lingo at the level of district court is the state local language.

The proposal has been in the pipeline since November 2012, when the than Cabinet Secretary led Committee of Secretaries in the UPA Government led by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had given approval for creation of the AIJS.

Till date, 15 States and 18 High Courts (of 24) have responded to the proposal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a vocal supporter of an all India judicial service. 

On October 31 at the 50th year celebration of Delhi High Court held last month, in the presence of the Chief Justice of Supreme Court T S Thakur, the Prime Minister backed the idea.

At present, judges for lower courts are mostly selected by HCs or the State Public Service Commission of respective states.  Taking into account the enormous pendency of about three crore in district courts across India and the fact that the district courts are running short of 5,111 judicial officers, a step in the right direction will pave way for speedy justice.

The CJI on his pat calling for lessening the burden on the judiciary, he said the government is the “biggest litigant”. “The judiciary spends its maximum time on us. Us does not mean Modi, but the government,” he said.

On a lighter note, Mr. Modi had said, “I never had the privilege to be in a court but I’m told the atmosphere there is serious. Its influence is seen here too. It’s the golden jubilee, smile a bit… I understand the seriousness on the dais so that no wrong perception is created. But here (among audience), I don’t think there is any problem”.

A note prepared by the Law Ministry on the proposed interactive session between the CJI and the Chief Justices in High Courts reads, “The matter has been discussed at the highest level in the government and the judiciary. It has been decided that the Honourable Chief Justice of India would convene a meeting of the Chief Justices of the HCs to arrive at a consensus on formation of All-India Judicial Services Examination.””

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It is an unending tale of safety and security of the people being thrown out of the window. At least on the gigantic Indian Railways which is the backbone of the country’s transportation system logging a mind boggling seven billion passenger trips annually.

The tragedy of it all is that at least 25,000 people are killed in railway accidents every year. These statistics are extremely scary to say the least. The question is do we as Indians really value and care about human life? It is even worse with the governments of the day both at the Centre and in the states. They summarily dole out Rs 2-3 lakhs compensation to the families of the dead and Rs 25,000 to RS 75,000 to the seriously injured. There ends the State’s intervention and life for the bereaved is supposed to return to normality.

“”If our lives mattered, the politicians might not be so callous in their approach,”” regretted a senior citizen who had retired as Railway Board member. And what is worse superannuated Railway Board officials concede that these aged bogies should not have been used to carry passengers posing an inherent threat to safety. In a majority of instances accidents occur due to the sheer negligence of the crumbling railway infrastructure requiring immediate upgradation. The faster and prestigious trains like the Rajdhanis and the Shatabdis use the safer LHB coaches manufactured in Kapurthala in Punjab and Rae Bareli, the parliamentary constituency of Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh. 

For the teeming lower middle class and the poor travelling from one place to another is a necessity rather than any pleasure, the old coaches manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory in Perambur in Tamil Nadu are being used rather than phasing them out. Considering the acute shortage of the safe LHB coaches the unsafe passenger bogies continue to be used.

The implication of this “”chalta hai”” attitude is that the authorities are laying themselves bare to accidents. Why should’nt all those responsible for pursuing such a policy be charged with pre-meditated murder? The Indore-Patna express train accident is the biggest accident on the railways since 2010. How many more such heart rending and painful accidents will the nation have to endure before matters are put on an even keel.

Is it going to serve any purpose in baying for union Railway minister Suresh Prabhu’s head by holding him responsible for this tragedy. A purposeful person and a doer he had underlined in his maiden speech while presenting the Railway Budget earlier this year that he is according the highest priority to safety as well as improving other aspects encompassing hygiene and sanitation on the IRs.

In the prevailing circumstances when the railways needs to get its act together, should introduction of bullet trains be accorded priority when the  Railways safety record is taking a severe beating. Millions of people travelling by trains daily need to be assured of their safety. All the elements of safety — integrity of the tracks, signalling, engines and coaches need to be checked rigorously. Invariably investigations even by independent bodies have found human error account for 70 per cent of serious rail accidents. This underlines the need for rigorous training and strict operational discipline. 

In the present instance it needs to be determined if there were flaws like fracture of the track, whether the driver exceeded the specified speed limit as well as the flaws in the coach design leading to 146 fatalities and nearly twice that number were injured. 

Various specialist committees have made recommendations about safety as well as restructuring the system along with undertaking major reforms encompassing the creation of a statutory safety authority, quick fire replacement of old coaches with the modern LHB design and revamped management which remains focussed on key train operations. In keeping with Prabhu’s promise all the zonal railways are to be equipped with ultrasound flaw detection machines by March next year to test the quality of the tracks. Then, after an accident medical facilities are usually highly inadequate which in turn determines a victim’s chance of survival. A significant number of accidents happen in rural areas where hospital facilities are lacking.

The Railways ministry should ensure that red tape should not come in the way of the victims getting the best aid and treatment. It is important that the rescue teams are well trained and equipped for the task. Already there have been three major derailments this year, two in UP and one in Madhya Pradesh. With less that 40 days to go before ushering in the new year, the country has already suffered 80 major railway accidents as against 69 last year in 2015.

Over half of them have been due to derailments which is a pointer to tracks not being well looked after or the coaches being old. In this particular instance the driver of the Indore-Patna express had complained about something being wrong with one of the bogies. He was advised to stop at Kanpur, a zonal centre, to get the problem fixed, according to reports. Alas that was not to be.

What is regrettable is the step motherly treatment being meted out to trains serving the country’s hinterland. A retired Railway Board official has called for laying newew tracks all over the country. A mind boggling task in itself.

Making matters worse is that the Railways are in deep trouble financially. TMC’s former Railways minister Dinesh Trivedi says in a newspaper article the railways is on the verge of bankruptcy and likely to report a net loss of Rs 25,000 crores. Under the circumstances it might have to borrow money to pay the salaries.

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.)”